Solar System Unit

We have been studying the solar system and different elements of the solar system since the beginning of the school year.  We have created a few projects to show the difference in the size of the planets in relation to the sun, the order of planets in orbit, gravity understanding, and the relationship between the planets according to their distances away from each other.  They have had a good time doing these hands-on projects.

Size of Planets in Relation to the Sun

For this project I found a printable online that showed the relationship in size of the planets compared to each other and the sun.  I found different types of candy, crackers, and beads that were close to the relative size on the sheet.  The students needed to find the object or candy that fit the size of the planet according to the sheet.  Some of the students were very concerned with finding the correct color for each planet.  This was not a requirement but a very good effort on the students part!

 This is a finished project by one of the students.

Gravity

 Another aspect of space is the study of gravity.  We have been reading books and doing experiments to help them better understand the idea of gravity on earth, zero gravity in space, and the moon having gravity but less than earth.

This is one finished project about the equal gravitational pull the earth has.  The students picked a butterfly template that I found online.  They colored it, cut it out, and pasted it to card stock.  I then gave them change to pick from.  The idea was for them to realize they needed an equal amount taped to both sides of their butterfly so it would balance.  As you see, they caught on fast!  They had a good time finding different things in the room their butterflies would balance on.

Size of the Sun

This was another project to show the relationship between the size of the planets and the sun.  The students helped mix cupcakes and one round cake.  They were given a cupcake and had to research their planet in order to know what color to decorate it.  Two students worked together on the sun.  They made a mess and had a great time!  The best part was when they were able to eat them.....yum!

Distance of Planets from the Sun

This was a fun project. The students were given a sheet of all the planets with measurements of the distances away from the sun and how many toilet paper squares were relative to the distances.  They had to work in groups and measure out the distance for their assigned planet.  They did a really great job measuring the toilet paper out, especially since neptune was 100 sheets away from the sun!